For the first time in three years, Japan witnessed a total lunar eclipse on October 8, 2014. Everywhere across the island nation, friends and family gathered outside under the open sky and turned their gazes upward.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, the Earth, and the moon are arrayed imperfectly on a line. Like total lunar eclipses, they are only visible during a full moon. A total lunar eclipse, however, requires that all three bodies are aligned perfectly.

In a total lunar eclipse, the Earth’s shadow totally blocks the sunlight, creating an umbra—the innermost and darkest part of a shadow—where the light source is completely blocked by the occluding body. An observer in the umbra then experiences a total eclipse.

The total lunar eclipse on October 8 lasted for nearly an hour, providing everyone with plenty of time to observe it.

People in Japan came up with a variety of unique ways to watch the eclipse. “Lunar eclipse yoga,” for instance, was quite popular.

Calling itself “The Moon’s Diamond Veil,” the lower half of Tokyo Tower lights up in pink lights at least once a month to mark the full moon. For the eclipse, the LEDs on the upper half of the Tokyo Tower were extinguished and lit instead by moonlight. To create a romantic atmosphere, people inside the tower also lit candles in nearly 100 of the building's windows.

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